Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Liverpool are not the greatest team in Premier League history, highlighting Alex Ferguson’s record with the Red Devils.

Liverpool are on track for their first league title since 1990 as Jurgen Klopp’s unbeaten Reds top the Premier League by 13 points with games in hand.

The Champions League holders can take another step towards the title when they welcome rivals United to Anfield on Sunday.

However, Solskjaer – who claimed six Premier League trophies and the Champions League as a player under legendary manager Ferguson – insisted longevity is the key to greatness.

‘If you are taking the long view, the very best teams are the ones who can do it again and again and again,’ Solskjaer said.

‘No one really matches Sir Alex in that respect but I would be the first to admit Jurgen Klopp has done a great job at Liverpool.

‘At the moment he seems to know what he’s going to get every time he puts a team out, though we are only just past halfway through the season and there are still a lot of games to go.

‘If you look at Liverpool now, they have 33 wins and five draws from their last 38 [league] games. That’s 104 points, so it would have been a more than decent season.

‘They are doing well, to say the least, and could win a treble this season but let’s see where they are in May. They have a couple of difficult games coming up.’

United are fifth, five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and 27 points adrift of Liverpool.

Klopp, meanwhile, has praised the Red Devils and believes they will finish in the top four this season. 

‘United have a really good football team, talented and experienced,’ he told reporters. ‘There is a lot of good potential on the pitch.

‘I think they will probably qualify for the Champions League this season.

‘So, of course they can beat us. But they can only play as good as we let them play.

‘If we are at our best it’s difficult for every team. It’s our stadium so we have to make sure everybody knows that.’